Bruce Davenport Jr. to be included in Upcoming Documentary

above: "History of A Legend, Part 1" 3rd Series, September 2008. Pen and ink of paper - 22 x 28 inches. Courtesy of the artist and AMMO.

Bruce Davenport will be interviewing and including images of his works in the upcoming film, "The Whole Gritty City", by Richard Barber (Director, Producer, and Editor) and Andre Lambertson (Director of Photography and Co-Producer).

“THE WHOLE GRITTY CITY”

ONE BAND, ONE MARDI GRAS AND A GROUP OF CHILDREN

STRUGGLING TO STAY ALIVE

SYNOPSIS:

“The Whole Gritty City” is a story about survival – about kids and a group of musical mentors who are waging a war against the violent legacy of the streets. The story centers on one very special New Orleans band over the course of two years. 11-year-old Bear, 12-year-old Jazz, and identical twins Dariun and Darius, along with the band’s founder Derrick Tabb are the soldiers waging this war. Their weapons: the musical instruments these kids are just learning to play. In New Orleans, the birthplace of Jazz and America’s murder capital - the stakes are life and death.

For more information about "The Whole Gritty City", contact Richard Barber at 347-534-5570.

Highlights from the Portfolio Reviews

The best thing about being a curator is getting to look at SO MUCH AMAZING WORK, without having to worry about contractual obligations or any of the other BS that keeps an artist from sharing their work with others.

This week, we put out a request for portfolios to see what our Facebook members had to show us. I'd like to share some of my favorites, from artists that I have never heard from before.

The first image is a work on paper by Gulf Coast artist Nathanael Thayer Moss (www.nathanaelthayermoss.com). This piece, "Headpiece" 8.5 x 11 inches, is from his 2008 drawings. If you go all the way down to the bottom of the page, there are several of these that just made my heart want to explode. What I love is how they look like a combination of ceremonial masks, video games, and cross-stitching.

The next image is from a New York based artist named Charnan Lewis (www.charnanlewis.com). Lewis's piece, "Swiss Mountain" is made using recycled styrofoam balls (the ones that became all to familiar to those of us who once owned a bean bag chair) and paint.

I'm a big fan of work made by recycled objects, by breathing life back into things. It comes from a sense of primitivism, that some people, no matter if they have the means to purchase traditional materials or not, will make art out of anything. Those are the ones who remind us that inspiration is everywhere.

I'll have to finish this post later...Life is demanding my attention!